Whether We Wait
by Fate's Silver Chain
Summary: When the team storm an apartment, they certainly did not expect the teenager on the couch to pull out a gun, and then flash ID. Nor did they expect the trouble that followed. (7)
1. Chapter 1

The door slammed open, startling the boy resting on the couch into wakefulness and causing him to dive across the room, rolling to a stop behind the wall divider. Beside him sat the chest of drawers, and reaching behind it, he pulled the Glock .45 from where it was cellotaped to the wood.

Footsteps stormed across the previous rooms floor, separating as they headed to different parts of the apartment. Fluidly Alex spun round the wall, gun up coming to face with a woman, her own service issue beside his own.

There was a beat of silence, where the two just stared at each other, ignoring the calls of clear that came from the men in bullet proof vests searching the rooms. One man with almost a novelty version stood in the doorway, unabashedly staring at the woman and child himself.

"Uh, guys." He called, as two men strode back in, holstering their guns. "There's one here."

The woman coughed, lightly, ignoring the sound of her two team mates redrawing their guns and moving to get a better vantage point. "NYPD, give me the gun."

Alex paused, taking in the entire room before cursing and sliding the gun into his waist band without any other outward emotion. "You have got to be kidding me."

The woman tightened her grip on her own, shifting slightly. "I said, give me the gun."

"Show me your ID first then."

There was a pause before she did so, gun not wavering from the boys chest. He took it and sighed, moving to the couch were he pulled his own ID from under the seat. "Alex Rider, MI6." The boy offered, flashing it with a small grin, startling the group into silence.

"Oh. Wow." Castle decided, eyebrows raised. "I did not expect that."

* * *

Kate Beckett crossed her arms as she stared at the boy sitting in the room with a cup of coffee, flicking a straw between his fingers. Beside her, Ryan fidgeted.

"There was nothing on him in the system besides that he's English, and moved over here temporarily. Everything was wiped, and quite recently by the looks of things."

She shifted from one foot to the other, glancing at him. "What do you think?"

He paused before replying. "I don't know. From what I can tell, his ID is real, but he can't be any older that 18."

Esposito walked over, carrying a thin folder. "This is everything I've got. It doesn't amount to much though, and I have a feeling we may have raised some flags. I'd get in there before he gets taken away from us."

She nodded, opening the door quietly and slipping inside, watching him raise his face towards her.

"I was wondering when you would come in. You won't learn much by just watching."

Beckett tilted her head. "What makes you say I was watching?"

He leant back comfortably, taking his cup and setting it on his leg. "What can I do for you detective? You didn't break into my apartment just for the sake of it, so something led you to it. A lead on a murder I presume, since you are after all a homicide cop."

She blinked, recovering quickly. "How did you-"

"You broke my door down at whatever ungodly hour and you won't give me anything?"

"It was four o'clock in the afternoon."

Alex paused before shrugging. "Doesn't matter really. The point is that unless you're arresting me, I'm leaving. I came down here to help, but apparently, my presence confuses you, so I was not what you were looking for."

"That apartment was supposed to be empty. The man staying there had fled for the Congo Islands a month ago."

"He has." Alex nodded. "But the point remains the same. I hope you fixed the door."

Beckett raised her eyebrows, staring at him for a minute before shaking her head. "What ever. You're not under arrest."

"Well then, it was nice meeting you." Alex said standing and placing the mug down carefully.

With that, he strode out the door, leaving a stunned Esposito and Ryan watching him head towards the elevator. He smiled at them once before the doors closed, cutting him off from view. Beckett stepped out of the room, looking confused.

"What?"

Esposito whistled quietly. "That was impressive."

The two turned to look at him, and he offered a grin. "He's definitely secret service. You got nothing out of him."

* * *

Alex Rider let out a breath he had been holding, before stepping stiffly out of the elevator. The precinct was centered in a public place, which definitely caused him some trouble. He could not afford to be seen at this point.

With a roll of his shoulder he vanished into the crowd, distinctly aware of the two men who followed him. It didn't take much to loose them.

* * *

A cup of coffee appeared in the corner of her vision, startling her from her thoughts. Castle grinned, barely able to contain his excitement.

"So, where is he?"

"Gone." She replied, shrugging.

Castle's mouth dropped comically. "Gone? What do you mean, gone?"

"Like gone, as in walked out, not here, gone."

He frowned, pouting almost. "Aw, I really wanted to talk to him." He ignored her raised eyebrow to look at the board she was in front of. "So, do we have anything new?"

"Nothing. That apartment was our last lead, so we're out of options now."

"Did you ask what the kid was doing in the room?"

"No. But then again, he didn't exactly answer any of my questions." She took a sip of her coffee as Ryan strode over, frowning.

"Beckett; I was just going over the tapes for the precinct to gt a picture of Rider since there wasn't one in his file. But the boy isn't in them."

She frowned, standing up. "What do you mean?"

The three went into one of the back rooms where two screens were. After a second, he pressed play, showing the video of the group walking in. There was literally nothing where the boy was supposed to be, just a black smudge that moved with the cops.

Castle summed up the confusion easily. "What the hell?"

Ryan paused the screen, turning to speak as Espoito darted in, phone in one hand.

"There's been another one."

* * *

The two bodies were strewn across the alley floor carelessly, eyes wide and unseeing, their horror clearly plastered on their faces. Lanie stood at their arrival.

"Same kind of thing. They were in a fight before they died, killed presumably from some kind of hit, and it was definitely instantaneous. This is the fifth pair we've found, Kate. Something going on."

She frowned, before turning to the men beside her. "Canvass the area; I want to know if anyone saw them coming into the alley, what people heard, and why the hell they were targeted."

Castle coughed, crouched beside one of the bodies as he looked over carefully. "I don't think they were."

She paused, the three glancing at him. "What do you mean?"

"The fight, the dodgy area, the fact that, no doubt, no body saw or heard anything. These men haven't been singled out. They were ambushed."

"You think they're tails?" Esposito asked, seeing where this was going.

"Impossible. He's a kid." Ryan said, looking between them. "He couldn't possibly have killed them."

"He's MI6, and he has a gun. I think that's enough reason to be suspicious." Castle muttered, standing up.

Beckett nodded, still unsure. "Ryan has a point though. Plus, these are fresh. There wasn't enough time for him to get here and kill them, as well as wipe himself from the tapes."

"Unless that wasn't him." Esposito mused. "I did think that we would have been visited by someone to tell us to mind our own business. And yet we haven't. It's a possibility that he wasn't the one who cleared the tapes."

Kate shook her head, before moving away. "Pick him up anyway. I've got a few questions to ask him."

Castle looked over the crime scene once more, eyes straying above them to see the chimney of the building beside them. "What the hell is going on?"

As he turned away, he didn't see the chimney move.

* * *

**(A/N) I don't know if I particularly like this :/ Let me know what you think! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

Kate frowned as she surveyed the empty apartment. The boy had cleared out by the looks of things, leaving nothing behind. Everything had been wiped down, and she shook her head at Castle despairingly. Ryan and Esposito walked in with their pads with similar looks on their faces.

"No one even realised the kid was here." Ryan muttered, flicking through his notepad. "There's a family two doors down, a man three doors away and the woman next door who we managed to reach via mobile, all of whom thought that the apartment was still empty. And the owner of the building can't be reached either to find out whether he knew about the kid."

Esposito looked round the room carefully. "I don't think the kid was even meant to be here. If something's going on, we're not suppose to know about it."

"Ten bodies and we have nothing." She muttered, moving to the window. Pulling at the blind, she gazed out into the street, catching sight of a shadow across the road in the dark of an alley. "Esposito, someone's watching the building."

The man appeared beside her and gazed at the shape carefully. "Whoever it is, it's not the kid. Do you want us to grab him?"

* * *

The man took a heavy drag of his cigarette, watching as the cops pushed open the front door of the building. The man and the woman he was obviously sleeping with stood for a moment, before turning and walking away from the apartments.

He paused, waiting, before frowning. Where were the other-

"Hands up where I can see them." A deep voice demanded, a gun's safety clicking off behind his head. The man sighed and dropped the cigarette, turning slowly to face the two.

The white boy had his cuffs in one hand, watching almost nervously as the more trained man waited for him to move. He smiled. Not trained well enough.

With out faltering, he brought his hands up and twisted, pulling the tanned man into his back with his gun forwards, twisting his wrist and causing him to release the gun. He elbowed the cop in the stomach, and spun out, foot snapping against the chest of the other man. The two doubled over, the white boy crashing into the corner of a skip and falling to one knee. His partner straightened and retaliated, throwing a punch and ending up with two to the chest and one to the chin. He flew into the other man, landing sprawled on the floor.

The attacker looked at the two, and shrugged, lifting the gun to point at the two of them. There was a second where the two stared down the barrel of the gun, before it dropped, the man crushed by something that had fallen from above.

There was the sounds of a small scuffle, before there was a cry and the attacker collapsed, unconscious.

Alex stood up, and sighed, hands on his hips. "You know, you're making this a lot more difficult for me."

Esposito blinked, pushing himself to his feet, and ignoring the yelp Ryan made. His ribs ached, and he put a hand to them subconsciously, before moving his hand away as though to fight.

Alex shook his head, flipping the gun so he was holding the barrel, offering it to the man. Esposito stared, before accepting it.

"Well, that was fun, but if you'll excuse me." Alex muttered, walking past the two. With a jump, he kicked off the wall and leapt upward, hands clasping the black ladder that was hanging. Without a sound, he pulled himself up, and climbed, to the metal grey rest that was at the top.

"Wait!" Ryan called out, pulling himself the his feet as well. "How did you know we needed help? Not that we're not grateful or anything, because we are, but-"

He looked down through the gaps of the metal at the two, pausing as though the think of his answer. "Something bigger than anything you've ever seen before, is going on. And it starts here, in New York. With those dead bodies. Be careful; things are starting to get serious."

With that he vanished, silently, up the ladders and over the buildings. Esposito looked over at Ryan, disbelieving.

"'Not that we're not grateful or anything'" He imitated. "What's got you so upset?"

"Did you see him? He took that guy out in less than 10 seconds! That's scary. I'd rather not have him kill us because we said something-"

"Damn it! We weren't supposed to let him get away!" Esposito exclaimed, rubbing his forehead. "Beckett's going to kill us."

Ryan, swallowed, looking over the mans shoulder. "Speaking of which."

* * *

Beckett scowled, arms crossed as the two shifted nervously beside the murder board. The two had pretty much hightailed it from the alleyway after having told her what happened, in the pretense of taking the man back to the station. They'd then gone to see Lanie, who had looked at Esposito and deemed him fit enough to carry on work, despite the bruising that was beginning to appear.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Castle coughed, standing not far from the two men. "I don't think they had much choice in letting the kid go. After all, he did a ninja on the guy- heck, he's still out cold."

"Castle!"

"What? I'm only saying." He muttered into his mug, watching the woman carefully. "He's a ninja."

The woman rolled her eyes before pushing herself to her feet to stand closer to the board. "At least we still have the guy. Any idea who he is yet?"

"He's not in the system." Ryan said, looking at her carefully as though she'd turn on them in a second.

"Did you check internationally?" Castle asked, head tilted slightly. "The kid's British, so maybe this guy is too."

Ryan paused, his mouth open, before turning on his heel and walking out. Beckett rolled her eyes, before crossing her arms and looking avidly at the board. "But what are we missing?"

"Motive? Evidence? An actual live suspect who doesn't disappear from right in front of us?"

"Castle, that's not helping."

"But it's true!"

She rubbed her forehead, and pushed herself to her feet. "I'm going to see Lanie. Aren't you supposed to be picking up Alexis and Martha from the school?"

"Crap!" Castle grabbed his jacket and ran towards the elevator, only pausing to turn back around and put the cup on the desk. He slipped into between the elevator doors and vanished out of sight. The two stared at the doors for a minute, half expecting him to reappear, before turning back to each other.

"I'll put an APB out on the kid, see if anyone spots him."

Beckett nodded before heading to the stairs. Esposito turned as Ryan reappeared, holding a more promising looking folder.

"I found it! The guy was on the Canadian watch list, so I think someone will be calling to ask what we want with him. But nothing on the bodies in the morgue yet." Ryan glanced round the room, confused. "Where is everyone?"

"Beckett's downstairs. Why's he on the watch list?"

He flicked open the file and twisted it to show him. "He's a contract killer. Ex-Canadian Army, he disappeared six years ago, only to reappear when he assassinated three members of the political party that were loosing, caught on camera. Canada have been after him for years, but they think he left and hasn't come back."

* * *

Will Csima sat, stock straight, staring at the mirror opposite him which was no doubt, watching him with just as much interest. The cuffs on his wrist did nothing to placate him, rattling quietly each time he moved.

Someone had been clever enough to remove anything he could use as a lock pick from him.

There was a click as the door opened, to reveal one of the men he had attacked, and a woman. The dark-skinned guy stood next the mirror beside the door, and stared at him, obviously still upset. The brunette, however, appeared indifferent, sitting opposite him.

Csima allowed himself a sly smile, leaning forward almost threateningly. Beckett stared at him, before opening the folder and lying it flat. She watched as his attention shifted, and he froze, reading the information there quickly.

"So, William Csima. Are you going to tell us-"

"Where did you get this?" He asked, with barely an accent discernible. He glanced up at her, before continuing to read. "There is no way you could have this."

"Well, we've got it. So what were you doing at-"

"Where did you get this?" He growled, eyes narrowed.

Beckett paused and leaned back, closing the file and pulling it out of his reach before he could try to take it. "I'm not going to tell you anything until you answer my question."

"You mean the apartment? Simple. The guy staying there is causing trouble for my bosses. They wanted me to make sure he had no idea what they were doing."

"And what are they doing?"

Csima shrugged. "How would I know. I just do what I'm told."

"You're an assassin, Mr Csima."

"Contract killer, if you would." He replied, smiling. "You got it from the kid, didn't you?"

"Kid? What kid?"

He smiled, leaning back. "You were at his apartment, you tell me."

"We didn't get this from the apartment; you were watching. We came out with nothing from the building." Beckett replied, confused. "Why would he have your file?"

"You have no idea who he is, do you?" He muttered, staring at her. "You have no idea. But if you didn't get it from him-"

"You were identified from a BOLO put out by the Canadian police. They gave us your file."

"Canadian- but that's impossible. That file doesn't exist! I've never been to Canada in my whole life!"

"But you are Canadian, aren't-"

"My parents, yes, but I grew up in Venice. I've never seen Canada besides in pictures from-"

"You assassinated three members of a political party in Canada."

"Sure I killed them, but they weren't in Canada at the time. They were killed in Finland, and it was they who held the investigation, and it was inconclusive. There was no evidence that I was the killer! The only ones who knew were-" He paused, before sighing and shaking his head. "I'm not the only one the kid is pulling a fast one on. That file was planted for you to find."

"What do you mean?" Beckett stood up as the man collapsed, convulsing. His mouth twisted up into a grimace of a grin, before freezing and disappearing as the muscles relaxed. The two officers dived over, and Esposito sniffed at his mouth carefully, before shaking his head.

"Cyanide. He planned on dying here." He muttered, glancing at her as more officers piled into the room. Beckett stood up and grabbed the folder from the desk, storming out of the room with a face like thunder.

* * *

**(A/N) Sorry it took so long! Here's a New Year present to make up for it though :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Castle flicked the rolled balls of paper across the desk, watching as they flew off the end and into the bin. Across from him, both Esposito and Ryan watched, as not a single one missed.

Beside him Beckett flicked through the file she had gotten on William Csima. After his death in their interrogation room, she had sent it down to forensics, who told her that as far as they were concerned, the file was legit.

Around them, the office was empty, floor cleared in a mixture of the approaching lunch break and sunshine, and the knowledge of the team leaders bad temper. The case had been a long one, and with nothing going anywhere, the woman had little time for anyone who wanted to speak with them about anything unrelated.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by the beep of Espositos computer. The three others jumped and moved over, hoping for any kind of lead.

Blushing, the man closed the window and coughed, glancing at them. "Emails."

Castle grinned, enjoying the opportunity to make a jab at the man. "Is that your hot blonde girlfriend?"

"It's my mom, Castle."

He cringed, ignoring Becketts smirk, before moving back away. The group began to return to what they were doing, when Esposito's call stopped them.

"What is it?"

"Got an email from the Canadian Embassy, who I was speaking to about Csima. They've confirmed what he said. The alert was never put out by them, because Finland offered to do everything they could to find them."

Ryan who was reading over his shoulder made a noise, and reached out to point at something at the bottom of the screen. "Says here this is happened before, and if we want to know more information to contact this Xavier Sanders."

The two turned to Beckett, who paused, thinking it over, before nodding. "See if you can get him to come down. I want the case files for the other times this has happened as well."

Nodding to her, they began do do as they were bid, while Beckett returned to the murder board they'd set up. There were ten unidentified pictures, each a victim, set beside an artists rendering of Alex Rider, and another of Csima.

Castle followed. "It does make you wonder though, if the two cases are connected."

"They have to be. It's too much of a coincidence otherwise." She muttered, folding her arms.

"Anything on the victims?"

"Nothing. Ran their prints, their faces, everything. They don't exist." Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair, before picking up her jacket. "I'm going to check out the crime scenes again."

"I'll come with-"

"No. Give Ryan a hand sorting through the files. You may see something useful." Striding out the room, she hit the button for the elevator without glancing back. Esposito walked up to him, watching as she left without a word.

"She's just stressed man. This case has been going on too long."

"Hm." Castle turned back to the murder board, staring at the pictures with the hispanic man. Blinking, he glanced from one side of the board to the other. "Hey Esposito, every victim we've had."

"Yeah?"

"There's always been two."

"Yeah..." He replied, as Ryan walked up.

"Got the files, just printing them off now. Fancy lending me a hand?"

Castle carried on, barely sparing the man a glance. "Assuming the two are connected, then where is Csima's partner?"

* * *

Beckett stood in the middle of the bare appartement, arms crossed as she stared around herself. There was nothing, to tell her where Rider was, or why Csima was watching him. Sighing, she walked to the window, twitching the blinds slightly and looking out into the street.

The street was almost barren of people, with only a postman down the way delivering, and empty cars parked in front of tall buildings.

Behind her, someone coughed, and she spun quickly to see Alex Rider, leaning against the wall. Reaching for her gun, her hand met an empty holster, and she glanced down to see that it was true.

"Sorry, took it from you before." The boy said, and she raised her eyes to see the gun in his hand. Slowly, Beckett raised her hands, stopping when he snorted.

"I'm not going to shoot you." He added with a smile, taking the clip from the gun, and sliding the body over to her. She picked it up with a frown.

"What do you want?"

Alex tilted his head. "Well, first I want you to step away from the window."

Doing as he asked, she holstered the gun and moved closer to him. "Why?"

"People are still watching the building. You're an easy shot standing at the window."

Beckett glanced over her shoulder concerned. "But there's no one out there."

"Of course there is. You're just not seeing them." He replied without bite, putting his hands into the pockets of the black jeans he had one. "But we're not here to argue. I take it you want to ask me some questions, seeing as you came here before the other crime scenes."

"How did you-"

"Just because you can't see them, doesn't mean they're not there." He intoned, smiling. "I get paid because you don't see me, detective. You only have a minutes, before I have to go. Spend it wisely."

"What do you know about the ten bodies we have? Are they connected to you? And just who is Csima?"

Alex laughed. "Csima is what the file said. A hit man. He was hired, along with the majority of men that you have in your morge, for an assassination. They were all after a friend of mine, who they cannot be allowed to touch."

"Did you kill them?"

"Kill them? No. Well, not really. Sure, I fought them because they were following my afore-mentioned friend, but I didn't kill them. If you get Lanie to run a more specific tox screen, say for hemlock or maybe crank, and you'll find that they were all poisoned."

She frowned. "How were they poisoned?"

He sighed, and tilted his head to one side. "They take it themselves." There was a beat of silence, where she just stared at him, before he spoke again. "This world is a lot darker than even you suspect, detective. They failed, and so they have to pay for it. Whether they do it themselves or someone else takes their life for them; it's all up to them in the end."

"What happened to honour among thieves?"

Alex snorted, pushing himself away from the wall. "These men are not thieves. They are murderers." He approached the doorway, pausing only to leave the clip of the gun on the table. "Be careful Katherine Beckett. Things are going to get a lot worse."

She frowned, moving forward to grab the clip of her gun and slide it back in. "Wait!" She called out, stopping confused as she came face to face with Castle and Esposito.

The two men looked at each other confusedly, before moving out of the way as Beckett barreled past them and down the stairs. The two turned and jogged after her, nearly running into her as she halted suddenly on the steps of the apartment building.

"Kate? Are you okay?" Castle asked, putting one hand on her shoulder.

She spun, eyes darting between the two of them. "Did you see him?"

"See who?" Esposito asked, frowning.

"Rider. He was here a minute ago."

The two glanced at each other again. "Beckett, there was no one here. No one passed us."

She looked between the two of them again, before running a hand through her hair. "Lets go back. I need a coffee."

* * *

Alex Rider sat on the wall of the park fountains, sunglasses on and his feet crossed beneath him as he ate the ice cream he's bought. His simple trainers were next to him, the same tan colour as the shorts he was wearing.

Around him, families and couples strolled, enjoying the last of the warm summer sun. Aware of all of them, he continued to lull in the noise, till a movement from under the canopy of a far of tree, the man he had been watching was joined.

Neither man was conspicuous. One was tall, gangly almost, with dusty blond hair that settled around his face as he sat down. The other, was darker, with Venetian blood lines, and the name Giovanni Paulo. In the shadow of the trees, the two looked like two strangers sharing a bench; though in reality, Alex knew that this was important.

Crossing one leg over his knee, Giovanni made a light remark, lifting his bottle of water to his mouth. The other man, glanced at him lightly, before passing his newspaper across. The two sat in silence a little longer, before the dark haired man held out a hand. The newspaper was folded and placed into it, and both then left their separate ways.

Alex sat a little longer, still watching the bench. Five minutes after the two had left, a man approached, wrapped up considerably tightly considering the hot weather. Tilting his head as he finished what was remaining of the cornet, he watched the man sit where Giovanni had, and began to root round in his black bag. He pulled out a sketch pad, and a box of charcoal, and Alex cursed inside his head.

Non discretely, the man placed the pad on his lap, and opened the box of charcoal, taking a piece and 'accidentally' swiping it across the bench. He sat for a while longer, before packing away his things, and setting the pad on the bench where he had sat. He took out his phone, and took a few pictures of the work, before putting that away too, and walking off back into the crowd.

Unfolding his legs, Alex put his head in one hand as he thought. Two children raced up to the wall beside him, both with a coin, and counting with their father, they flicked the coin high into the air. By the time it hit the water, Alex Rider was gone.

* * *

**(A/N) Ah, this is so wierd :D Hope you liked it :D**


End file.
